Europe’s Rail Sector Could Fail as a Greener Travel Option Due to Its Outdated Tech
Photo Credit: Lner, a rail service in the UK. Lner
Skift Take
Rising interest in intercity train travel has been amplified by new European incentives that favor greener forms of travel, plus deregulation. But rail operators are hampered by their old IT systems, which aren't ready to sell to international travelers in the Google era.
Online ticket buying for intercity rail in Europe remains inadequate, despite trains seeing a rise in sales from environmentally-conscious travelers. Rail operators could be gaining more market share at a crucial moment if they were more tech-savvy.
European governments have begun pushing consumers to use trains, which emit less carbon than planes. This year, the French, German, and Austrian governments tied pandemic-related state aid to airlines to demands that the carriers become greener. Air France has already cut most domestic flights under two-and-a-half-hours to favor rail.
"We have closed some non-connecting routes from Paris where there were alternatives on routes below two hours and thirty minutes," said Air France CEO Anne Rigail at Skift Aviation Forum recently. "We are working with the French railway, SNCF, to improve our inter-mobility and connections."
The push to go green poses an opportunity for railways, which have been underpriced for years by low-cost carrie
